Marcus Tullius Cicero→Titus Pomponius Atticus|c. 49 BC|Cicero|From Rome|To Rome/Athens|AI-assisted
"Dionysius, an excellent man, as I too have found him, very learned and very devoted to you, arrived in Rome on December 16 and delivered me your letter." Those are your exact words about Dionysius. You do not add, "and he thanked you." He certainly ought to have thanked you, and if he had done it, your kindness would have made you add the fact. As for me, the testimonial in my earlier letter leaves me no chance to recant. So let him be a good man. At least he has done me this kindness: he has given me a chance to know him more thoroughly.
Philogenes wrote to you correctly. He did what he ought to have done. I wanted him to use that money as long as he could, and so he used it for fourteen months.
I want Pomptinus to be well, and I am anxious about what you write, that he has entered the city. He would not have done that without a serious reason. Since January 2 is the festival of the crossroads, I do not want to come to the Alban villa that day and trouble the household. January 3, then; from there I go up to the city on the 4th. I do not know what day your fever attack falls on, but I very much do not want you to stir at any cost to your health.
As for my honor, unless Caesar has been secretly working through his tribunes, everything else seems calm. My own mind is calmer still; I take the whole affair with perfect equanimity, especially because I am now hearing from many people that Pompey and his advisers have decided to send me to Sicily because I hold imperium. That is an absurd scheme. The Senate has not decreed, and the people have not ordered, that I should hold command in Sicily. If the republic leaves the matter to Pompey, why should he send me rather than any private citizen? So if this command becomes a nuisance to me, I will use the first gate I see and put an end to it.
You write that there is great expectation of me, and that none of the good men - or good enough men - doubts what I shall do. I do not understand whom you mean by "good men." I know no such class, if we are looking for organized ranks of good men; good men exist one by one. But in political conflicts one must look for orders and groups. Do you think the Senate is good, when it has left the provinces without commanders? Curio could never have held out if negotiations with him had been opened; the Senate refused that course, and so Caesar was not given a successor. Or do you mean the tax-farmers, who have never been firm and are now very friendly to Caesar? Or the moneylenders? Or the landowners, whose dearest wish is peace? Do you suppose people who have never objected to a king so long as they were left undisturbed are afraid of being under a monarchy?
What then? Do I approve of allowing a man to stand for office while he keeps his army after the legal term has passed? No, by Hercules, not even if he were absent without the army. But when that concession was granted, this one was granted with it. Do I approve of a ten-year command, and one passed in that way? If so, I approve of my exile, of the loss of the Campanian land, of a patrician being adopted by a plebeian, of a man of Gades by a man of Mytilene; I approve of the wealth of Labienus and Mamurra, of Balbus' gardens and Tusculan estate. The source of all these evils is one. We should have resisted him when he was weak; that would have been easy. Now there are eleven legions, as much cavalry as he wants, the people beyond the Po, the city mob, so many tribunes of the plebs, such reckless young men, and a leader with such authority and such daring. Either we must fight him or allow his candidacy under the law.
"Fight," you say, "rather than be slaves." To what end? If you lose, you are proscribed; if you win, you are still slaves. "Then what will you do?" The same as scattered cattle: each follows the herd of its kind. As an ox follows the drove, so I shall follow the good men, or whoever are called good men, even if they rush to ruin. I see very clearly what would be best in circumstances so badly tangled. No one can know what will happen once arms are taken up; everyone knows this, that if the good men are defeated, Caesar will be no gentler than Cinna in killing leading men and no more moderate than Sulla in taking the wealth of the rich.
I have been playing statesman with you long enough, and I would go on longer if my lamp were not going out. To sum it up: "Speak, Marcus Tullius." I agree with Gnaeus Pompeius - that is, with Titus Pomponius. Please give my greetings to Alexis, that most civilized boy, unless perhaps while I have been away he has become a young man, as he seemed to be threatening to do.
"Dionysius, an excellent fellow—as I too have found him—a good scholar and your very stanch friend, arrived in Rome on the 16th of December, and gave me a letter from you." That's all you say about Dionysius in your letter. You do not add "and he expressed his gratitude to you." Yet certainly he ought to have done so, and, if he had, you would have added it with your usual good nature. I cannot make a volte face about him, owing to the character I gave him in the former letter. Let us call him then an honest fellow. He has done me one kindness at any rate in giving me this further chance to know him thoroughly. Philogenes is correct in what he wrote: he duly settled his debt. I wanted him to use the money as long as he could; so he has used it for 14 months. I hope Pomptinus is getting well. You mention his entrance into town. I am somewhat anxious as to what it means: he would not have entered the city except for some good reason. As the 2nd of January is a holiday, I don't wish to reach Pompey's Alban villa on that date for fear I should be a nuisance to his household. I shall go there on the 3rd, and then visit the city on the 4th. I forget on what day the fever will attack you again; but I would not have you stir to the damage of your health.
As for my triumph, unless Caesar has been secretly intriguing through his tribune partisans, all else seems smooth and easy. My mind is absolutely at ease, and I regard the whole business with indifference, especially as many people tell me that Pompey and his advisers
have determined to send me to Sicily, because I still have military powers. That is a muddle-headed plan. For neither has the House decreed, nor the people authorized me to have military power in Sicily. If the state delegates the appointment to Pompey, why should he send me rather than any unofficial person? So, if this military power is going to be a nuisance, I shall get rid of it by entering the first city gate I see. As for your news that there is a wonderful interest in my arrival and that none of the "right or right enough party" doubt as to my future action, I don't understand your phrase "the right party." I don't know of such a party, that is if we look for a class; of course there are individuals. But in political splits it is classes and parties we want. Do you think the Senate is "right," when it has left our provinces without military rule? For Curio could never have held out, if there had been negotiations with him—a proposal rejected by the House, which left Caesar without a successor. Is it the tax-collectors, who have never been loyal and are now very friendly with Caesar? Or is it the financiers or the farmers, whose chief desire is peace? Do you suppose they will fear a king, when they never declined one so long as they were left in peace? Well then, do I approve of the candidature of a man who keeps his army beyond the legal term? No, not even of his candidature in absence. But when the one privilege was granted, the other went with it. Do I then approve of the extension of his military power for ten years, and that carried as it was carried? Then I should have to approve of my own banishment, the throwing away of the Campanian land on the people, the adoption
of a patrician by a plebeian, of that gentleman of Gades by the man of Mytilene. And I should have to approve of the wealth of Labienus and Mamurra and the gardens and Tusculan estate of Balbus. But the source of all these evils is one. We ought to have resisted him when he was weak: that would have been easy. Now there are eleven legions, cavalry as much as he wants, the northern tribes across the Po, the city riff-raff, all the tribunes of the people, the young profligates, a leader of such influence and daring. We must either fight him or allow his candidature according to the law. "Fight," say you, "rather than be slaves." The result will be proscription if beaten and slavery even if one wins. "What shall I do then?" What the cattle do, who when scattered follow flocks of their own kind. As an ox follows the herd, so shall I follow the "right party," or whoever are said to be the "right party," even if they rush to destruction. The best course in our straits is clear to me. No one can tell the issue of war: but every one can tell that, if the right party are beaten, Caesar will not be more merciful than Cinna in slaying the nobility, nor more moderate than Sulla in robbing the rich. I have discussed la haute politique long enough, and I would do so longer, had not my lamp gone out. The end is "Your vote, Marcus Tullius." I vote with Pompey, that is with Titus Pomponius.
Please remember me to Alexis, a very clever boy, unless perhaps in my absence he has become a man, as he threatened to do.
'Dionysius, vir optimus, ut mihi quoque est perspectus, et doctissimus tuique amantissimus, Romam venit xv Kalend. Ian. et litteras a te mihi reddidit.' tot enim verba sunt de Dionysio in epistula tua, illud +putato+ non adscribis, 'et tibi gratias egit.' atqui certe ille agere debuit et, si esset factum, quae tua est humanitas, adscripsisses. mihi autem nulla de eo palinoidia datur propter superioris epistulae testimonium. sit igitur sane bonus vir. hoc enim ipsum bene fecit quod mihi sui cognoscendi penitus etiam istam facultatem dedit. Philogenes recte ad te scripsit; curavit enim quod debuit. Eum ego uti ea pecunia volui quoad liceret; itaque usus est menses xliii. Pomptinum cupio valere et, quod scribis in urbem introisse, vereor quid sit; nam id nisi gravi de causa non fecisset. ego quoniam iiii Non. Ian. compitalicius dies est, nolo eo die in Albanum venire, (ne) molestus familiae veniam. iii non. Ian. igitur; inde ad urbem pridie Nonas. tua lepsis quem in diem incurrat nescio, sed prorsus te commoveri incommodo valetudinis tuae nolo. [4] de honore nostro nisi quid occulte Caesar per suos tribunos molitus erit, cetera videntur esse tranquilla; tranquillissimus autem animus meus qui totum istuc aequi boni facit et eo magis quod iam a multis audio constitutum esse Pompeio et eius consilio in Siciliam me mittere quod imperium habeam. id est Abderitikon. nec enim senatus decrevit nec populus iussit me imperium in Sicilia habere. sin hoc res publica ad Pompeium refert, qui me magis quam privatum aliquem mittat? itaque si hoc imperium mihi molestum erit, utar ea porta quam primum videro. nam quod scribis mirificam exspectationem esse mei neque tamen quemquam bonorum aut sat bonorum dubitare quid facturus sim, ego quos tu bonos esse dicas non intellego. ipse nullos novi, sed ita, si ordines bonorum quaerimus; nam singulares sunt boni viri. verum in dissensionibus ordines bonorum et genera quaerenda sunt. senatum bonum putas per quem sine imperio provinciae sunt (numquam enim Curio sustinuisset, si cum eo agi coeptum esset; quam sententiam senatus sequi noluit; ex quo factum est ut Caesari non succederetur), an publicanos qui numquam firmi sed nunc Caesari sunt amicissimi, an faeneratores, an agricolas quibus optatissimum est otium? nisi eos timere putas ne sub regno sint qui id numquam, dum modo otiosi essent, recusarunt. quid ergo? [6] exercitum retinentis cum legis dies transierit rationem haberi placet? mihi vero ne absentis quidem; sed cum id datum est, illud una datum est. annorum enim decem imperium et ita latum (placet)? placet igitur etiam me expulsum et agrum Campanum perisse et adoptatum patricium a plebeio, Gaditanum a Mytilenaeo, et Labieni divitiae et Mamurrae placent et Balbi horti et Tusculanum. sed horum omnium fons unus est. imbecillo resistendum fuit et id erat facile; nunc legiones XI, equitatus tantus quantum volet, Transpadani, plebes urbana, tot tribuni pl., tam perdita iuventus, tanta auctoritate dux, tanta audacia. Cum hoc aut depugnandum est aut habenda e lege ratio. [7] 'depugna' inquis 'potius quam servias.' ut quid? si victus eris, proscribare, si viceris, tamen servias? 'quid ergo' inquis 'facturus es?' idem quod pecudes quae dispulsae sui generis sequuntur greges. ut bos armenta sic ego bonos viros aut eos quicumque dicentur boni sequar, etiam si ruent. quid sit optimum male contractis rebus plane video. nemini est enim exploratum cum ad arma ventum sit quid futurum sit, at illud omnibus, si boni victi sint, nec in caede principum clementiorem hunc fore quam Cinna fuerit nec moderatiorem quam Sulla in pecuniis locupletum. empoliteuomai soi iam dudum et facerem diutius, nisi me lucerna desereret. ad summam 'DIC, M. TVLLI.' adsentior Cn. Pompeio, id est T. Pomponio. Alexim, humanissimum puerum, nisi forte dum ego absum adulescens factus est (id enim agere videbatur), salvere iubeas velim.
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"Dionysius, an excellent man, as I too have found him, very learned and very devoted to you, arrived in Rome on December 16 and delivered me your letter." Those are your exact words about Dionysius. You do not add, "and he thanked you." He certainly ought to have thanked you, and if he had done it, your kindness would have made you add the fact. As for me, the testimonial in my earlier letter leaves me no chance to recant. So let him be a good man. At least he has done me this kindness: he has given me a chance to know him more thoroughly.
Philogenes wrote to you correctly. He did what he ought to have done. I wanted him to use that money as long as he could, and so he used it for fourteen months.
I want Pomptinus to be well, and I am anxious about what you write, that he has entered the city. He would not have done that without a serious reason. Since January 2 is the festival of the crossroads, I do not want to come to the Alban villa that day and trouble the household. January 3, then; from there I go up to the city on the 4th. I do not know what day your fever attack falls on, but I very much do not want you to stir at any cost to your health.
As for my honor, unless Caesar has been secretly working through his tribunes, everything else seems calm. My own mind is calmer still; I take the whole affair with perfect equanimity, especially because I am now hearing from many people that Pompey and his advisers have decided to send me to Sicily because I hold imperium. That is an absurd scheme. The Senate has not decreed, and the people have not ordered, that I should hold command in Sicily. If the republic leaves the matter to Pompey, why should he send me rather than any private citizen? So if this command becomes a nuisance to me, I will use the first gate I see and put an end to it.
You write that there is great expectation of me, and that none of the good men - or good enough men - doubts what I shall do. I do not understand whom you mean by "good men." I know no such class, if we are looking for organized ranks of good men; good men exist one by one. But in political conflicts one must look for orders and groups. Do you think the Senate is good, when it has left the provinces without commanders? Curio could never have held out if negotiations with him had been opened; the Senate refused that course, and so Caesar was not given a successor. Or do you mean the tax-farmers, who have never been firm and are now very friendly to Caesar? Or the moneylenders? Or the landowners, whose dearest wish is peace? Do you suppose people who have never objected to a king so long as they were left undisturbed are afraid of being under a monarchy?
What then? Do I approve of allowing a man to stand for office while he keeps his army after the legal term has passed? No, by Hercules, not even if he were absent without the army. But when that concession was granted, this one was granted with it. Do I approve of a ten-year command, and one passed in that way? If so, I approve of my exile, of the loss of the Campanian land, of a patrician being adopted by a plebeian, of a man of Gades by a man of Mytilene; I approve of the wealth of Labienus and Mamurra, of Balbus' gardens and Tusculan estate. The source of all these evils is one. We should have resisted him when he was weak; that would have been easy. Now there are eleven legions, as much cavalry as he wants, the people beyond the Po, the city mob, so many tribunes of the plebs, such reckless young men, and a leader with such authority and such daring. Either we must fight him or allow his candidacy under the law.
"Fight," you say, "rather than be slaves." To what end? If you lose, you are proscribed; if you win, you are still slaves. "Then what will you do?" The same as scattered cattle: each follows the herd of its kind. As an ox follows the drove, so I shall follow the good men, or whoever are called good men, even if they rush to ruin. I see very clearly what would be best in circumstances so badly tangled. No one can know what will happen once arms are taken up; everyone knows this, that if the good men are defeated, Caesar will be no gentler than Cinna in killing leading men and no more moderate than Sulla in taking the wealth of the rich.
I have been playing statesman with you long enough, and I would go on longer if my lamp were not going out. To sum it up: "Speak, Marcus Tullius." I agree with Gnaeus Pompeius - that is, with Titus Pomponius. Please give my greetings to Alexis, that most civilized boy, unless perhaps while I have been away he has become a young man, as he seemed to be threatening to do.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
'Dionysius, vir optimus, ut mihi quoque est perspectus, et doctissimus tuique amantissimus, Romam venit xv Kalend. Ian. et litteras a te mihi reddidit.' tot enim verba sunt de Dionysio in epistula tua, illud +putato+ non adscribis, 'et tibi gratias egit.' atqui certe ille agere debuit et, si esset factum, quae tua est humanitas, adscripsisses. mihi autem nulla de eo palinoidia datur propter superioris epistulae testimonium. sit igitur sane bonus vir. hoc enim ipsum bene fecit quod mihi sui cognoscendi penitus etiam istam facultatem dedit. Philogenes recte ad te scripsit; curavit enim quod debuit. Eum ego uti ea pecunia volui quoad liceret; itaque usus est menses xliii. Pomptinum cupio valere et, quod scribis in urbem introisse, vereor quid sit; nam id nisi gravi de causa non fecisset. ego quoniam iiii Non. Ian. compitalicius dies est, nolo eo die in Albanum venire, (ne) molestus familiae veniam. iii non. Ian. igitur; inde ad urbem pridie Nonas. tua lepsis quem in diem incurrat nescio, sed prorsus te commoveri incommodo valetudinis tuae nolo. [4] de honore nostro nisi quid occulte Caesar per suos tribunos molitus erit, cetera videntur esse tranquilla; tranquillissimus autem animus meus qui totum istuc aequi boni facit et eo magis quod iam a multis audio constitutum esse Pompeio et eius consilio in Siciliam me mittere quod imperium habeam. id est Abderitikon. nec enim senatus decrevit nec populus iussit me imperium in Sicilia habere. sin hoc res publica ad Pompeium refert, qui me magis quam privatum aliquem mittat? itaque si hoc imperium mihi molestum erit, utar ea porta quam primum videro. nam quod scribis mirificam exspectationem esse mei neque tamen quemquam bonorum aut sat bonorum dubitare quid facturus sim, ego quos tu bonos esse dicas non intellego. ipse nullos novi, sed ita, si ordines bonorum quaerimus; nam singulares sunt boni viri. verum in dissensionibus ordines bonorum et genera quaerenda sunt. senatum bonum putas per quem sine imperio provinciae sunt (numquam enim Curio sustinuisset, si cum eo agi coeptum esset; quam sententiam senatus sequi noluit; ex quo factum est ut Caesari non succederetur), an publicanos qui numquam firmi sed nunc Caesari sunt amicissimi, an faeneratores, an agricolas quibus optatissimum est otium? nisi eos timere putas ne sub regno sint qui id numquam, dum modo otiosi essent, recusarunt. quid ergo? [6] exercitum retinentis cum legis dies transierit rationem haberi placet? mihi vero ne absentis quidem; sed cum id datum est, illud una datum est. annorum enim decem imperium et ita latum (placet)? placet igitur etiam me expulsum et agrum Campanum perisse et adoptatum patricium a plebeio, Gaditanum a Mytilenaeo, et Labieni divitiae et Mamurrae placent et Balbi horti et Tusculanum. sed horum omnium fons unus est. imbecillo resistendum fuit et id erat facile; nunc legiones XI, equitatus tantus quantum volet, Transpadani, plebes urbana, tot tribuni pl., tam perdita iuventus, tanta auctoritate dux, tanta audacia. Cum hoc aut depugnandum est aut habenda e lege ratio. [7] 'depugna' inquis 'potius quam servias.' ut quid? si victus eris, proscribare, si viceris, tamen servias? 'quid ergo' inquis 'facturus es?' idem quod pecudes quae dispulsae sui generis sequuntur greges. ut bos armenta sic ego bonos viros aut eos quicumque dicentur boni sequar, etiam si ruent. quid sit optimum male contractis rebus plane video. nemini est enim exploratum cum ad arma ventum sit quid futurum sit, at illud omnibus, si boni victi sint, nec in caede principum clementiorem hunc fore quam Cinna fuerit nec moderatiorem quam Sulla in pecuniis locupletum. empoliteuomai soi iam dudum et facerem diutius, nisi me lucerna desereret. ad summam 'DIC, M. TVLLI.' adsentior Cn. Pompeio, id est T. Pomponio. Alexim, humanissimum puerum, nisi forte dum ego absum adulescens factus est (id enim agere videbatur), salvere iubeas velim.